Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Yes, that's right. Squats. Again.

I was thinking about stuff in general, when the Squats popped into my head. Oddly enough, I work in a General Goods store, and there are Legos. Lego Star Wars, to be exact. It was a Lego Star Wars Attack of the Clones Clone Walker, you know, the ones with six legs on the sides. And that is where my thought process started.

WHAT IF the Squats came back as a Mechanize force, much like the Guard. However, instead of being focused on "Tanks and Trenches", as my brother calls it, the Squats instead rely on their Bikers for speed, and Walkers for Firepower. With few exeptions, all vehicles, even the transports, would be walkers, with special rules allowing them to traverse more difficult terrain than most other vehicles. Also, so as to allow people to feild "Foot Squats", they have a Mechanized Squad that has to have a Transport for them, much like Devilfish?

This would make them UNABLE to be compared to Dwarves (Since when have Dwarves been known for Speed?) and would allow for some pretty impressive tactics/variations (Bike Rush? Lots of Heavy Walker Firepower?)

Just thought I would run this by you Squatters out there.

Sumerization:

Squats are standard on Bikes.
Infantry Squats can be bought along with transports
All vehicles are Walkers, and they have the biggest Walkers in the game.
Squat Walkers would suffer less penalties for going through Difficult Terrain. (compared to other Vehicles/Walkers, don't have my rulebook with me)

That's... actually kind of interesting. I wouldn't remove the option to take an infantry-heavy army altogether, but an army built around walkers would be cool. Why not go one step further and make their dedicated transports walkers too?

Brother SRM wrote:That's... actually kind of interesting. I wouldn't remove the option to take an infantry-heavy army altogether, but an army built around walkers would be cool. Why not go one step further and make their dedicated transports walkers too?

I said that

all vehicles, even the transports, would be walkers

Thanks for the support

I quite like this idea. I can't help but think they'd need some sort of flyer too, but all I can think of are gyrocopters and zeppelins, both of which are still very...dwarfy. Maybe some sort of heavily grimdarked hybrid airship festooned with weapons, although I can't see GW pulling that off well.

For flyers, give them Thornicopters. It'd keep with the 'using limbs for propulsion' theme (thornicopters use flapping wings instead of solid or rotary ones) while still allowing for the Grimdarkness, and diverting them a little (but not too much- after all, they're still DWARVES IN SPAAAACEEEEE) from the 'dwarven, we're short and squat and don't like birds and stuff' image.

Thornicopters sound good, and I like the walker idea. (Bet that's a surprise.) Although I always liked the idea of a monowheel bike.

Slarg232 wrote:

Brother SRM wrote:That's... actually kind of interesting. I wouldn't remove the option to take an infantry-heavy army altogether, but an army built around walkers would be cool. Why not go one step further and make their dedicated transports walkers too?

I said that

all vehicles, even the transports, would be walkers

Thanks for the support

Whoops, reading comprehension am gud. Need a derpy Orkmoticon here!

Instead of flyers, you could have leapers

Not a bad idea but part of the (limited) appeal for me of the Squats was their super heavy land trains and tanks.
You wouldnt allow them back?

Ratius wrote:Not a bad idea but part of the (limited) appeal for me of the Squats was their super heavy land trains and tanks.
You wouldnt allow them back?

No, I don't think so; that would make them too similar to Guard, me thinks.

Naturally it would be up for debate/playtesting, but were it in my hands, I wouldn't allow them back, no.

Agreed on the similarity with the guard, however maybe one or two super heavies would be nice - perhaps done by FW?

I like it. I remember a fan made Ad Mech codex, that had an upgrade to make the transports walkers and it seemed like a decent idea.

I think instead of making the walkers as fast as the normal transports they might make them a bit tougher. Like the weakest transport maybe being 12 all around or 13/12/12. Perhaps throwing in a more decent version of the Rhino's repair roll.

If they put the effort into it they could easily bring them back as something entirely different to all the other armies, yet still fit in with the setting.

Flying thing with flappy bird style wings = ornithopter (as in ornithology - the study of birds)
Flying thing with bug style wings = coleopter
Both good options for a change from the usual 'tank or... floaty tank' transport options!

Matt.Kingsley wrote:Instead of flyers, you could have leapers

This


It would definitely add a new dynamic to movement. Have a standard move that works normally, but instead of moving fast like other flyers, make it jump.
I would think it would be like deepstriking every time it moved in this fasion. . . maybe whatever it landed on would have to save wounds, (and the leaper would have to make a dangerous terrain check or whatever).

Hmmm not sure about that idea.
Even from a strictly fluff PoV why would the Squats develope such a machine? Their worlds were very high gravity hence them being....well squat. The amount of power/suitable materials needed to construct such a beast wouldnt be worth it. I think it would be much more likely them developing a heavy walker with some serious leg power to enable it to move faster under the higher gravity conditions/navigate the difficult rocky terriain of their worlds.

Uhm yeah Imho a tunneler a-la mawloc is more suited to the heavy grav setting. A drop pod with an earth drill... Can reemerge somewhere else

Slarg232 wrote:Yes, that's right. Squats. Again.

I was thinking about stuff in general, when the Squats popped into my head. Oddly enough, I work in a General Goods store, and there are Legos. Lego Star Wars, to be exact. It was a Lego Star Wars Attack of the Clones Clone Walker, you know, the ones with six legs on the sides. And that is where my thought process started.

WHAT IF the Squats came back as a Mechanize force, much like the Guard. However, instead of being focused on "Tanks and Trenches", as my brother calls it, the Squats instead rely on their Bikers for speed, and Walkers for Firepower. With few exeptions, all vehicles, even the transports, would be walkers, with special rules allowing them to traverse more difficult terrain than most other vehicles. Also, so as to allow people to feild "Foot Squats", they have a Mechanized Squad that has to have a Transport for them, much like Devilfish?

This would make them UNABLE to be compared to Dwarves (Since when have Dwarves been known for Speed?) and would allow for some pretty impressive tactics/variations (Bike Rush? Lots of Heavy Walker Firepower?)

Just thought I would run this by you Squatters out there.

Sumerization:

Squats are standard on Bikes.
Infantry Squats can be bought along with transports
All vehicles are Walkers, and they have the biggest Walkers in the game.
Squat Walkers would suffer less penalties for going through Difficult Terrain. (compared to other Vehicles/Walkers, don't have my rulebook with me)

Not a bad idea at all, but isn't this just what the RT Squats were? You had Bikes, Trikes, Robots and inf in Rhinos (which you'd replace with a walking Rhino). All the heavy stuff was from the Epic game and tbh fits better with Apoc - Land Trains, Goliath Cannons etc.

Ratius wrote:Hmmm not sure about that idea.
Even from a strictly fluff PoV why would the Squats develope such a machine? Their worlds were very high gravity hence them being....well squat. The amount of power/suitable materials needed to construct such a beast wouldnt be worth it. I think it would be much more likely them developing a heavy walker with some serious leg power to enable it to move faster under the higher gravity conditions/navigate the difficult rocky terriain of their worlds.

On their own planet, yes it wouldn't be worth it, they would build it so it moved as well as other walkers on other planets, but once they fight on a planet with low gravity, you have a leaper!

See!?

Walkers n' Trains n' ornithopters! THOSE would be some sweeet (expensive) models!! I love it though!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Matt.Kingsley wrote:

Ratius wrote:Hmmm not sure about that idea.
Even from a strictly fluff PoV why would the Squats develope such a machine? Their worlds were very high gravity hence them being....well squat. The amount of power/suitable materials needed to construct such a beast wouldnt be worth it. I think it would be much more likely them developing a heavy walker with some serious leg power to enable it to move faster under the higher gravity conditions/navigate the difficult rocky terriain of their worlds.

On their own planet, yes it wouldn't be worth it, they would build it so it moved as well as other walkers on other planets, but once they fight on a planet with low gravity, you have a leaper!

See!?

Well, maybe their regular walkers, legs stout as hell to withstand the gravity of squat home worlds/move rocks n whatnot round the mines... become leapers when exposed to lesser gravity? They gain the ability out of sheer strength of their limbs..

Just place Squat models on the table, that in itself makes them unique.

ghargatuloth wrote:Just place Squat models on the table, that in itself makes them unique.

Agreed. I want to a IG count-as army for a while, but...ehhh...too many other projects.

Remember, a stat line can count for a wide variety of things.

On the subject of flyers for an all walker army- why not swipe the venerable veritech fighter idea? A walker that can become a flying machine, with limited utility. If it moves a certain distance it becomes a skimmer for that turn. If it doesn't, it counts as a walker. It would be a unique mechanic, and a heavy grav world convertible flyer would be so chunky it would make the storm raven look like a swimsuit model.

I think a new version of squats should also change the fact that they are dwarf squats. I mean, might as well if your retconning them. This way, GW stands by the claim that squats will never come back, but we have a very-similar-to-squats-but-not-exactly-the-same-thing new army. Everyone will know that they are the new squats, while not being squats.

Borrowing inspiration from mass effect/babylon5, have them stuck in their enviromental suits, so you never see their face. I like the walker idea mentioned above, as it brings more variety to 40k army types.

Also, why not include a train? Its a squadron of vehicles that must be in base contact. One traincar has the engine, some have weapons, ect. Blow up the middle one and the rear one is immoblized but the unit ceases to be a squadron. Immoblized results are rerolled for traincars that are not engines, and immoblized results of course will destroy the engine traincar but not the rest of the squadron (who will now all be immobile).
Train squadron, up to three traincars. If you dont have an engine traincar you are immobile, but per BRB can deepstrike onto the battlefield when you cant start on the board (finally a unit designed to use that rule!)
Engine traincar: allows you to move. 2 or more make the squadron fast. Has a defensive weapon (think rhino) and some kind of ramming prow upgrade.
Big Gun Traincar: immobile without engine traincar, has a big gun (think artillery).
Transport Traincar: immobile without engine traincar, transports a dozen models, has a defensive gun (think rhino)
Tactical traincar: immobile without engine traincar, transports 6 models, has a moderate gun on it (think razorback)

I agree quite heavily with the great idea above.
I do not however, like the idea of us never seeing their faces.

Well if we dont see their faces, then they can be dwarves! But because we dont see their faces, maybe they are not dwarves! Idea is squats but not squats.

Somewhere between classic War of the World Tripods over Star Wars AT-ATs to currently popular stuff like Starcraft II Colossus, I certainly can see a (large) Walker army fitting and sufficiently popular addition to 40K.

I'd rather not have them be Squats or Dwarfs though.